Images of the East Coast superstorm

People wade and paddle down a flooded street as Hurricane Sandy approaches, Monday, Oct. 29 in Lindenhurst, N.Y. Gaining speed and power through the day, the storm knocked out electricity to more than 1 million people.

A massive Hurricane Sandy lashed the Eastern United States with relentless rains and severe wind gusts and was expected to become an epic superstorm when it finally makes landfall in New Jersey and combines with two other weather systems.

Just the initial impact was severe: making rivers out of coastal roads, forcing those who waited too long to be rescued by boats or fearfully ride out what was to come. The nation's major financial markets shut down, schools and public transportation closed and city streets were abandoned as the storm moved over a region of 50 million people.